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John By
Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was designated as the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
By was born in Lambeth, Surrey, the second of three sons of George By, of the London Customs House, and Mary Bryan. Nothing certain is known about By’s early education; Andrews suggests that it could have been at Sir Thomas Rich's School in Longlevens. He gained a good knowledge of arithmetic and writing; competence in English, French and Latin; and some drawing skills, as he was admitted at age 13 to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He graduated from the academy in 1799.
In August of that year, he was gazetted a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery; by the end of the year he had transferred to the Royal Engineers. In 1800 he was posted to the fortifications at Plymouth, which were being modernised.
In July 1802 By was posted to Canada, where he worked on the fortification of Quebec City and on improving the navigability of the Saint Lawrence River. In early 1811 By returned to England. He was almost immediately posted to Portugal, where he served during the Napoleonic Wars before falling ill (probably with malaria); he was back in England in August. The Royal Engineers' Window in Rochester Cathedral indicates that By served without injury during the conflicts.
In 1812, By was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer of the Royal Gunpowder Mills in Waltham Abbey. A huge explosion had occurred there on 27 November 1811, when "no. 4 Press House and the adjoining Corning House blew up, killing seven workmen and breaking windows in Hackney ten miles away." By directed the reconstruction of the corning house and built two new gunpowder mills. He also introduced two new presses to replace the twelve that had been lost. The new presses, and a new design of charcoal press, proved to be more efficient and cheaper to run.
At the end of the war, By retired from the military. In 1826, because of his engineering experience in Canada, he was recalled and assigned there to supervise the construction of the Rideau Canal between Ottawa and Kingston. Since the canal was to begin in the wild and sparsely populated Ottawa River valley, his first task was the construction of a town to house the workmen and labourers of associated services. The resulting settlement, called Bytown in his honour, was later renamed after the river. It was designated as the capital of Canada.
The canal was completed in six years, and was acclaimed as an engineering triumph. It had huge cost overruns, however, and became a political scandal for the Board of Ordnance. Colonel By was recalled to London, where he was accused of having made unauthorised expenditures. The charges were spurious, and a parliamentary committee exonerated him. By petitioned Wellington and other military leaders to review his case, but the damage was done. He was forced to retire and never received a formal commendation for his great achievement on the canal. By retired to Frant in Sussex and died in 1836; he is buried in the village of Frant.
John By married twice. He first married Elizabeth Johnson Baines, daughter of a naval captain, at Madron on 12 November 1801. Elizabeth died in December 1814 and was buried on 16 December at Cheshunt.
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John By
Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was designated as the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
By was born in Lambeth, Surrey, the second of three sons of George By, of the London Customs House, and Mary Bryan. Nothing certain is known about By’s early education; Andrews suggests that it could have been at Sir Thomas Rich's School in Longlevens. He gained a good knowledge of arithmetic and writing; competence in English, French and Latin; and some drawing skills, as he was admitted at age 13 to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He graduated from the academy in 1799.
In August of that year, he was gazetted a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery; by the end of the year he had transferred to the Royal Engineers. In 1800 he was posted to the fortifications at Plymouth, which were being modernised.
In July 1802 By was posted to Canada, where he worked on the fortification of Quebec City and on improving the navigability of the Saint Lawrence River. In early 1811 By returned to England. He was almost immediately posted to Portugal, where he served during the Napoleonic Wars before falling ill (probably with malaria); he was back in England in August. The Royal Engineers' Window in Rochester Cathedral indicates that By served without injury during the conflicts.
In 1812, By was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer of the Royal Gunpowder Mills in Waltham Abbey. A huge explosion had occurred there on 27 November 1811, when "no. 4 Press House and the adjoining Corning House blew up, killing seven workmen and breaking windows in Hackney ten miles away." By directed the reconstruction of the corning house and built two new gunpowder mills. He also introduced two new presses to replace the twelve that had been lost. The new presses, and a new design of charcoal press, proved to be more efficient and cheaper to run.
At the end of the war, By retired from the military. In 1826, because of his engineering experience in Canada, he was recalled and assigned there to supervise the construction of the Rideau Canal between Ottawa and Kingston. Since the canal was to begin in the wild and sparsely populated Ottawa River valley, his first task was the construction of a town to house the workmen and labourers of associated services. The resulting settlement, called Bytown in his honour, was later renamed after the river. It was designated as the capital of Canada.
The canal was completed in six years, and was acclaimed as an engineering triumph. It had huge cost overruns, however, and became a political scandal for the Board of Ordnance. Colonel By was recalled to London, where he was accused of having made unauthorised expenditures. The charges were spurious, and a parliamentary committee exonerated him. By petitioned Wellington and other military leaders to review his case, but the damage was done. He was forced to retire and never received a formal commendation for his great achievement on the canal. By retired to Frant in Sussex and died in 1836; he is buried in the village of Frant.
John By married twice. He first married Elizabeth Johnson Baines, daughter of a naval captain, at Madron on 12 November 1801. Elizabeth died in December 1814 and was buried on 16 December at Cheshunt.
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